01 October 2021, Mumbai:

Guess (Gaurik Lifestyle), a clothing and accessories company aims to establish 50 outlets over the next five years, with a sales target of Rs. 300 crore by 2026. Guess is distributed in India by Gaurik Lifestyle.

According to a story in Financial Express, the major business daily, Manoj Nair, CEO of Gaurik Lifestyle, stated that the firm is optimistic about expanding its physical presence, with a goal of ten outlets by the end of FY22. In India, Guess is emulating large-format exclusive brand stores (EBOs).

“Following the second wave, we've seen a steady increase in customer demand, paving the road for our EBOs in the Indian market. The brick-and-mortar approach has always been capital-intensive; it is our brand's face. In India, we aim to open two types of stores: the first will be a denim store with all of Guess's categories, and the second will be an accessory-only store,” he added.

Initially, the growth will concentrate on the highest-grossing malls, with a gradual shift to micro-markets and the introduction of accessory stores in smaller cities, featuring important categories like handbags and watches.

The brand is accessible in India on e-commerce sites such as Tata CLiQ, Nykaa, Myntra, and Ajio. E-commerce channels account for 60% of the company's commercial sales. In the forthcoming Fall/Winter 2021 collection, the company will debut a new line of athleisure clothing designed for the work-from-home, multitasking scenario.

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25th September 2021, Mumbai:

Darshana Jardosh, Union State Minister for Railways and Textiles, completed a two-day visit to Assam on September 24, 2021.

On Friday, the Union Minister of State met with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and addressed a variety of subjects, including the state's current railway projects and the convergence of textile technologies to increase the beauty and demand of Assamese traditional clothes throughout the world.

Jardosh also met with State Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi and informed him of the need of improving railway connection for the state's overall economic growth. Later, she spoke to the media at the NF Railway Central Hospital in this city on the current initiatives and the state of the programs that her ministries had executed.

Jardosh added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always highlighted the north-eastern states in his speeches.

Minister Darshana Jardosh addressed the crowd, saying that the railways have been the lifeblood of our country's people, and explaining how NF Railways was able to deliver logistic supplies in the region during the epidemic. She also stated that the Railway Ministry is working on expanding tourism offerings in the state, such as the recently opened Vistadome.

A passenger train service was flagged off today by Minister of State remotely via video link from N. F. Railway Headquarters, where MP (LS) Queen Oja, MP (LS) Kripanath Mallah, MP(LS) Pradan Baruah, MP (RS) Bhubaneswar Kalita, MP (RS) Pallab Lochan Das, and MP (LS) Topon Kumar Gogoi was also present, to meet the demand of local passengers.

Darshana Jardosh also went through different connection, operation, and passenger amenity operations.

Anshul Gupta, General Manager/ Northeast Frontier Railway, briefed the Minister on the Northeast Frontier Railway's (Open line) overall performance and day-to-day operations, including train operations and passenger amenities improvement in several states.

Sunil Sharma, General Manager/Northeast Frontier Railway (Construction), and top railway officials from the building organization also made a presentation on current railway construction projects in the North East.

Darshana Jardosh, Minister of State for Railways, later dedicated a new 500 LPM oxygen generator plant and laid the foundation stone for a 40-bed isolation unit at Central Hospital in Maligaon.

The Oxygen Generator Plant will offer a continuous supply of oxygen to patients in the railway hospital's wards. According to a news release, the Minister of State for Railways also spoke with journalists in Maligaon.

Jardosh informed that she had discussed textiles convergence of technology with the Chief Minister of the state to increase the beauty and demand of Assamese traditional garments across the globe.

Earlier, the Union Minister of State reviewed with senior officials of the Handloom & Textile, Government of Assam on implementation of the Ministry's scheme.

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23rd September 2021, Mumbai:

Actor Amitabh Bachchan has been named as the brand ambassador for leading footwear company VKC. This will be the renowned actor's first time endorsing a footwear line.

With the actor, VKC Group will shortly launch the "Celebrate Hard Work" campaign across India. The brand expects to increase its position in the Indian market and make inroads into the global footwear industry in the coming months as a result of this partnership.

“VKC Group is pleased to partner with Amitabh Bachchan, the great of Indian cinema,” said VKC Razak, managing director of VKC Group.

I am confident that Amitabh Bachchan would not only serve as a brand ambassador for the VKC Group, but will also motivate India's footwear sector to produce the greatest goods, new trends, and innovations in order to compete with China, the world's leading footwear manufacturer.”

The VKC Group, located in Kerala, is one of India's major footwear producers, with brands such as VKC Pride, VKC Lite, and VKC Stile.

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30th September 2021, Mumbai:

Emporio Armani has launched a new festive edition eyewear collection for the Indian market. Featuring three distinct styles: two sunglasses and one optical frame, the collection introduces a new gold shade to match with the green lenses on the sunglasses styles and Havana temple tips on the optical frame.

The inner temple tips of the three styles feature the words ‘Celebrating India’ and ‘Special Edition.’ They come in dedicated packaging that complements the unique design of these models.

The festive capsule collection is being sold at select stores from September 2021. Emporio Armani is an eyewear brand from the luxury fashion house Giorgio Armani SpA., Italy’s second-biggest fashion group after Prada.

Founded by Giorgio Arman, the group designs manufactures, distributes, and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics, and home interiors.

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25th September 2021, Mumbai:

Comfort Technology Company™ and global lifestyle and performance footwear brand, Skechers has launched the Street Ready Collection. Offering streetwear sneakers for the fashion conscious youth in India, the collection will be endorsed by Siddhant Chaturvedi who will illustrate how these styles are perfect for the modern man.

The high decibel campaign includes a digital film highlighting the youthful exuberance associated with the new collection as well as the audience it targets. The film portrays Siddhant Chaturvedi as the lead protagonist and is seen jumping through his day to the tunes of the hip jingle of the Street Ready Collection.

The core message of the campaign, ‘My style is my pehchaan’ is a callout to the growing affinity towards India’s street culture.

The new collection will be available at Skechers retail outlets nationwide and online at Skechers.in.

Skechers India launched in 2012 and the Company offers a wide range of its 3,000 footwear styles to men, women and children across the country, along with introducing apparel and accessories in nearly every category.

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22nd September 2021, Mumbai:

New York-based footwear and accessories brand Steve Madden has opened its first New Delhi store at DLF Promenade. The store will offer largest collection of Steve Madden shoes and handbags including the newly launched AW'21 collection. The new collection includes a wide range of sneakers, boots, sandals, accessories, and more, for both men and women.

Steve Madden is already available in India through its distributor Reliance Brands. The new concept store is a hub for the new voice and vision for the brand, says Puneet Bahal, Senior Vice President- Business, Reliance Brands. Launched in 1990 in New York, Steve Madden has exclusive brand stores across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Mohali, Ludhiana, Bhopal, Indore, Vadodara, Kochi, Hyderabad and Zirakpur, and over 100 shop-in-shop counters. The brand also has a strong online presence and sells through Reliance’s Ajio portal and other leading e-commerce platforms.

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28th September 2021, Mumbai:

Butt Chique, the new shapewear brand by designer Kamakshi Agarwala has launched a range of seamless shape-wear, body tapes, and nipple pasties, etc.

The range accentuates the curves of a woman and gives her the confidence to wear any outfit by providing a smooth base underneath.

As a part of R&D for the brand, Agarwala conducted a door-to-door survey on women of various sizes to try on the brand’s shape-wear. Urging 150 women to try on every different size of shape-wear, she discovered that women with an ‘L’ type body shape could also wear size ‘M.’

This process helped her standardize shapewear and give it a size chart. All products offered by Butt-Chique are free from labels/tags with full disclosure at the back. The brand uses zero plastic in its packaging and keeps the packaging box minimalistic and free from any fancy laminations.

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24th September 2021, Mumbai:

Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan has been signed as the brand ambassador by leading footwear brand VKC. The actor will feature in VKC Group’s soon-to be-launched campaign ‘Celebrate-Hard Work.

The association will help the brand strengthen its presence in the Indian market and make inroads in the global footwear market in the coming months. VKC Razak Managing Director, VKC Group says, Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador by the VKC Group will inspire the footwear industry in India to come up with the best products, new fashions, and innovations to compete with China, the global footwear manufacturing leader.

Kerala-based VKC Group is one of the largest footwear manufacturers in India with brands like VKC Pride, VKC Lite, and VKC Stile, etc. Founded in 1984, VKC commenced operations with just 20 employees and a modest product portfolio of one item.

Today, VKC manufactures around 0.4 million pairs of footwear daily. It is not only the Number-1 PU footwear manufacturer in India but also one among the top in the world.

VKC products reach its end customers pan-India through a well-established network comprising of over 330 dealers and a lakh of retailers, majority of who have been holding long-standing relationship. VKC also exports its products to GCC countries, Singapore, Malaysia etc.

Current brand portfolio promoted by the Group comprises major brands like VKC Pride followed by VKC Lite, VKC Trendz, VKC Junior, Walkaroo, Skalino, and Vestire.

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22nd September 2021, Mumbai:

According to the Textiles Ministry, as of August 30, 28,374 craftsmen and 1,49,422 weavers have registered on the public procurement portal GeM.

According to the statement, the measure would aid in the promotion of handloom and handicraft items to government customers without the need for intermediaries.

It is hoped that this would enhance involvement from underserved seller groups such as artisans, weavers, microentrepreneurs, women, tribal entrepreneurs, and self-help organizations who engage in handloom and handicrafts but have difficulty accessing government marketplaces.

The web has about 28 distinct product categories for handloom items and 170 bespoke product categories for handicrafts.

"Dedicated web-banners and market pages for Indian Handloom and Indian Handicrafts products have been developed to showcase high-quality handicraft and handloom products made by artisans, weavers, cooperative societies, SHGs, and producer companies capable of supplying such products to various government buyers," the statement continued. This program aims to offer direct market access to about 35.22 lakh handloom workers and 27 lakh handicraft craftsmen while also eliminating intermediaries.

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28th September 2021, Mumbai:

On September 25, the Indian Fashion Awards hosted its second season to honor fashion innovators, with judges including fashion designer Rocky Star and winners included designer Manish Malhotra.

The awards ceremony, which took place in New Delhi on Saturday, was intended to honor "fashion's unsung heroes," according to a press release.

Rajnigandha Pearls hosted the event, which was sponsored by Mario and DLF Malls. Rocky Star, Sonalika Sahay, Maneka Gandhi, Ravi Jaipuria, Prasad Nail, and Varun Rana were among the judges who rewarded designers from all around the industry.

The awards event stated on Facebook that designer Sahil Kochhar received an award for Innovative Designer in Craft Techniques and Karan Torani received Rajnigandha Pearls Presents Sparkling Designer of the Year.

Miss Malini, a fashion blogger, was named Female Digital Entrepreneur of the Year, while Lokesh Sharma was named New Age Show Director of the Year. Siddharth Tytler, Gaurav Gupta, Tarun Tahillani, Anamika Khanna, Vaishali S, Suneet Varma, and Rohit Bal are among the prominent fashion designers who have received accolades.

Sanjay Nigam organized the India Fashion Awards, which featured corporate partners such as Kati Patang, Waves Flora, and Whiteflash Events as a production partner.

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23rd September 2021, Mumbai:

Specialising in heritage fashion and handcraft goods, business-to-customer shopping fair Haat will organize its upcoming editions in six Indian cities, beginning with Bhubaneswar in October. As per a Fashion Network report Haat will hold its first event from October 8-9, 2021 in Bhubaneswar.

The shopping fair will present a range of traditional, fusion, and western wear along with accessories, jewelry, home furnishings, footwear, handicrafts, and home décor, among other items. Menswear and children’s wear will also feature along with handloom weaves and clothing.

The second edition of Haat will be held at the Hotel Taj Krishna in Hyderabad from October 22 to 24. The event will feature ample festive offerings, and will be held in strict compliance to health and safety measures.

The third and fourth editions of the exhibition have been planned at Kolkata’s Ice Skating Rink from October 23 to 26 and at the Hotel Tulip Imperial in Nagpur from October 26 to 27. The business-to-customer exhibition will subsequently travel to Indore for an event at the hotel Sayaji from October 29 to 30.

The Haat will conclude with a fair in Raipur from October 29 to 31. The shopping fair will feature bridal wear for the winter wedding season and accessories handmade in various parts of India.

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22nd September 2021, Mumbai:

Syed Zafar Islam, a Member of Parliament, led a delegation of handicraft exporters who met with Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister, to discuss issues such as the restoration of duty-free import of essential embellishment, trimmings, and tools for the handicrafts sector (DFIC), the removal of the IEC (risky exporters) alert, and specifically the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) rates for the handicraft This team included Rajkumar Malhotra, Chairman, EPCH; Dr. Rakesh Kumar, DG, EPCH; and Avdesh Agarwal, General Secretary, Moradabad Handicrafts Exporters Association.

Following the Minister's careful hearing of the problem, the delegation now hopes for a favorable meeting conclusion. Since the recently published RoDTEP rates for several handicrafts product categories, which averaged about 0.7 percent, there has been considerable demand for rates for the handicrafts industry to be reconsidered, according to Rajkumar Malhotra. “We believe today's discussion will assist us in addressing our concerns so that the industry can maintain its growth momentum,” he added.

The availability of duty-free imports has aided handicraft exporters in importing items for embellishing their products, such as lighting and lamps, fashion jewelry, wooden handicrafts, and other items, in order to improve the quality and appearance of their products in line with current tastes and preferences in the international market. Specifically, handicrafts exporters in Moradabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Saharanpur, and other craft clusters have been regularly producing new and innovative goods and exporting them to various nations throughout the world. Dr. Kumar also extended an invitation to the Finance Minister to the upcoming 52nd IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn, 2021, which will be hosted at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, from October 28 to October 31, 2021.

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